Advice re moving please, ? Hebden bridge ? Lytham

[Blueskytoday]

We currently live in ribble valley, Lancashire.
Good schools, expensive houses. Always lived here.
The house itself we all like, although, I think it's bigger than we need. 3 bed semi, conservatory, office, utility, drive, garage , garden front And back. 2 adults, 2 teens, 3 small dogs.
The house is next to very busy road, no cycle paths etc,

We have a mortgage balance of £165,000 , house, is worth around £210,000.
we are both 47 and been married and home owners nearly 20 years.we should have nearly paid mortgage off by now. We have moved several times, have used equity to pay off credit card debts once, don't have any credit cards now.
I keep thinking about moving moving again to a cheaper house to get the mortgage down a lot, have more disposable cash for holidays etc.

What are everyone's thoughts?
Eldest dc due to start a levels in sept , d.s in Year 9.

Also wondering whether to stay in the area or move , have always wanted to live by the coast, or somewhere where you can bike, walk , sail everywhere on canals.

Recently visited hebden bridge in West Yorkshire and loved it, beautiful, really unusual place.
House prices seem similar to here.
Lots of cycle paths on canals, lovely cafes, lots to do in the village.
Thinking a smaller cottage, terrace type home would be great.

The other place I've thought about is Lytham st Anne's, near coast, lots of places can cycle. Not sure about teenagers, lots of older , retired people.

Any advice or experiences of either place to live would be great 👍.

Don't have anything constructive to say other than: if you move to Hebden Bridge, make sure you are not at risk of being affected by floods.
3yrs down the line, people are only just getting back to normal

I'd say it's a really odd time to consider moving with one child about to start A levels and one starting the hard work building up to GCSEs. I anticipate the disruption would be negative for them both.

I have family that grew up in Lytbam - I don't know where you are in the Ribble Valley but would guess it's much cheaper than Lytbam. The schools are probably better than Lytham and whilst it's ok for your age group and older, there isn't much for teenagers and they tend to drift into Blackpool for nights out (which is, to be frank, grim). I don't know Hebden Bridge but wouldn't expect a move to Lytbam would be viable from budget or what you want out of life.

Hebden Bridge is great but more expensive than surrounding places so you might find it difficult to find a three bed with garden for less than £210k (away from river areas)

Who says you should have paid off your mortgage by now? At 47 you have nearly another 20 years of work to go before retirement. Have you looked at re- mortgaging and perhaps taking a long fix? You might be able to get the interest rate down and fix for 10 years, depending of course on what kind of deal you currently have.

Lytham is beautiful.

The local secondary school to Hebden Bridge is one of the worst in Calderdale. I also wouldn't move two teens there. It isn't called Happy Valley without good reason! It's also very expensive. You won't save anything moving there.
I think you are best staying put until your children are through their exams.

Thanks for your thoughts everyone, always good to get your ideas and advice.

I'd probably stay until your teens are done with education then you can assess the situation.

There's also the problem of catastrophic flooding in Hebden Bridge, which may or may not happen again...

Hebden Bridge - counter culturish, lots of lesbians, hills, beautiful countryside, slightly cheaper housing than Lytham - conservative, older people by the sea.

Hebden- as documented in "shed your tears and walk away". Grim

Lytham is incredibly expensive. St Anne's is cheaper but if you want to be near the sea front, not much cheaper.

Also I was a teenager in St Anne's. There's not really anything to do.